Programs

Cancer

Nearly forty years after the war on cancer was declared, the effort to identify novel and effective anticancer therapies remains a challenging and important endeavor. Research in previous decades has led to significant advances, such as the identification of cancer-associated genes. Discoveries such as this have paved the way for the development of novel molecular targeted therapies that hold promise for successfully treating cancer. Southern Research has played an integral, pioneering role in cancer research and drug development, drawing upon our unique expertise gained from a relationship with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) since the 1950s. Groundbreaking therapies discovered at Southern Research include seven FDA-approved anticancer drugs including one cytoprotective agent to reduce toxicities associated with cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Distinctive Expertise/Capabilities

Our scientists have diverse basic and translational research interests in tumor cell biology, mechanism-of-action of chemotherapeutic drugs, development of novel therapeutic targets, and cancer chemoprevention. In addition, Southern Research has been recognized nationally and internationally for our expertise in evaluation of anticancer drugs using a variety of experimental models. We have screened thousands of potential anticancer compounds in animal models, including approximately 50% of the FDA-approved anticancer drugs, and have played an essential role in their development. Additionally, we have developed a proprietary database that includes efficacy information on most clinically active agents. Our unparalleled experience enables us to optimally design studies that provide critical preclinical data for drug development.

The Southern Research Cancer program is comprised of the following capabilities and initiatives:

Current Drug Pipeline

Gene Expression Database

Southern Research has constructed a Gene Expression Database that allows clients and potential clients to search our 58 cell lines and 42 tumor fragments to find the relative expression levels of a target of interest across these cell lines and xenograft models.